Apparatus for manipulating load supporting member

ABSTRACT

A front end loader vehicle having a pair of booms attached to an excavating bucket which is to be manipulated relative to the vehicle by a spaced pair of first arcuate gear segments which have corresponding ends of the booms attached thereto to permit substantially linear movement of the booms and a spaced pair of second arcuate gear segments connected to the booms to permit elevating and lowering of the booms. Each of the first gear segments has a peripheral ring provided with radially outwardly extending teeth. Each of the second gear segments is contained within the peripheral ring of a first gear segment and is provided with a peripheral ring having radially inwardly extending teeth to form a compact apparatus for manipulating the bucket.

. United States Patent Petelski APPARATUS FOR MANIPULATING LOAD SUPPORTING MEMBER Nick Petelskl, Dallas, Tex.

[73] Assignee: Peerless Mlg. Co., Dallas, Tex.

[22] Filed: June 15, 1970 21 App]. No.: 46,325

[72] lnventor:

[52] U.S. Cl. ..2l4/l40, 214/148 [51] Int. Cl. ..E02f 3/62 [58] Field o fSearch ..2l4/l48, 140, 765 77l,779

[56} References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,332,227 3/l920 Norman 1,021,469 3/1912 Nameche ..294/1 [1 3,664,529 1 May 23, 1972 Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-John Mannlx Attorney-Richards, Harris & Hubbard ABSTRACT A front end loader vehicle having a pair of booms attached to an excavating bucket which is to be manipulated relative to the vehicle by a spaced pair of first arcuate gear segments which have corresponding ends of the booms attached thereto to pennit substantially linear movement of the booms and a spaced pair of second arcuate gear segments connected to the booms to permit elevating and lowering of the booms. Each of the first gear segments has a peripheral ring provided with radially outwardly extending teeth. Each of the second gear segments is contained within the peripheral ring of a first gear segment and is provided with a peripheral ring having radially inwardly extending teeth to form a compact apparatus for manipulating the bucket.

9 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTED MAY 2 3 1912 sum 1 [1F 3 k w m2; m2; H a. m T E N N P m w K w W w [M1 A No N No NI 8 :fl llll m lllll D m moo: moo: woos.

PATENTEDMAY 2 3 m2 sum 2 [)F 3 INVENTORI N/CK PETELSK/ ATTORNEYS PATE NTEDIIAI 23 I972 3. 664, 529

SHEET 3 UF 3 A2 B2 C2 H2 uI Al GI MODE GEAR SEGMENT POSITION I FIRsT Al-Fl FIRsT FI-Jl SECOND D2-H2 SECOND H2-A2 It FIRsT Al-Fl secomo D2-A2 FIRST Fl-Jl 'NVENTOR- III SECOND D2-A2 "NICK PE TELSK I FIRsT Fl-Jl Fig 5 I m ,fiw (Fwd ATTORNEYS APPARATUS FOR MANIPULATING LOAD SUPPORTING MEMBER RELATED APPLICATION Application for United States Letters Patent Serial No. 46210, Filed on June 15, I970, under the title VEHICLE HAVING FRONT END LOAD SUPPORTING MEMBER and assigned to the same assignee.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Vehicles which are adapted to support a load from one end thereof are in common usage. Typical of such vehicles are those commonly referred to as front end loaders and fork lifts both of which have mechanisms attached thereto for engaging and lifting a load. It has been appreciated with front end loaders, for example, that thefront opening excavating bucket is preferably propelled into the material while the tires of the vehicle are stationary. If the tires of the vehicle to which the bucket is attached are moving when the bucket encounters the material there will usually be slippage between the tire and the surface upon which the vehicle is operating causing rapid wear of the tires. Further, if the excavating bucket must be propelled into the material while the vehicle is moving the position of the bucket cannot be as accurately controlled as when the vehicle is stationary and the bucket is propelled by other means. Devices capable of extending the excavating bucket with the vehicle to which it is mounted remaining in a stationary position are illustrated in U. S. Pats. No. 3,327,880 issued to E. C. Brown on June 27, I967, No. 2,707,059 issued to C. Gerst on Apr. 26, 1955, No. 2,820,555 issued to H. F. Lessmann on June 21, 1958, and Australian Patent No. 167,063 issued to O. B. Holbrook on Feb. 21, 1956.

The prior mechanisms employed to propel an excavating bucket or the like into a material have, however, had certain disadvantages. They are complex to operate, expensive to maintain or unstable when operating in certain modes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention may be generally described as an improvement in vehicles of the type including a load supporting 'member, a first gear segment for moving the load supporting member substantially linearly and a second gear segment for raising and lowering the load supporting member. The improvement comprises one of said gear segments having a peripheral ring which upon movement of said gear segment describes a circular arc and the other of said gear segments also having a peripheral ring which upon movement of said other gear segment describes a circular arc, the said other gear segment being positioned within the peripheral ring of the first gear segment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. I is a side elevational view of a front end loader which embodies the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a graphic representation of the arcs through which the gear segments of one embodiment are moved;

FIG. 5 is a table containing data relating to modes of movement of the gear segments represented in FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are graphic representations of the relative timing of the movements of the gear segments represented in FIG. 4 during the modes of movement represented in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view along line 9-9 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With particular reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, there is illustrated an articulated front end loader 10 having a back unit 1 1 and a front unit 12 which are pivotally joined through wrist pin connectors 13. The back unit 11 is supported for movement upon a pair of wheels 14 which may be, for example, electric wheels which derive their power from an engine and generator system (not shown) housed within unit 11. Similarly, front unit 12 is supported by a pair of wheels 16 which may also be electric wheels which also derive their power from the engine and generator system in unit 11 through conductor 17 which passes between back unit 1 l and front unit 12. Extending from unit 12 is a load engaging member, which in the illustrated embodiment takes the form of a front opening excavating bucket 18, which is pivotally connected to a load supporting member such as a pair of booms 19 through bucket pins 21. Each of the booms 19 is formed'of parallel plates 23 and 24 so that the ends of each of the booms 19 are furcated. Booms 19 receive cars 22 of bucket 18 within ends 15, to permit pivotal movement of bucket 18 relative thereto as explained above, and at the opposite ends 20 receive therebetween first circular gear segments 25 to which they are pivotally mounted by boom pins 26. Rearward movement of booms 19 is limited by a resilient bumper 35 attached to wall 40 of front unit 1 1. Arcuate gear segments 25 through hubs 27 to which they are attached by spokes 28, as illustrated in FIG. 9, are mounted for rotational movement about axles 29 supported on the main frame 31 of front unit 12 in any suitable manner.

To assist in extension, retraction, elevation and lowering of booms 19 there are provided second circular gear segments 32 which are provided with spokes 33 which radially extend from the hubs 34 which are rotatably mounted on shafts 29. The second gear segments 32 are connected to booms 19 intermediate the ends of booms 19 by lift links 36 which are pivotally attached to the outer rings 37 of gear segments 32 by lift link pins 38 and to booms 19 by pins 39 which extend through plates 23 and 24 and permit pivotal movement of the lift links 36 relative to booms 19. As the outer rings 37 of gear segments 32 are rotatable about the same axis as the outer rings 41 of gear segments 25, the two sets of gear segments may be used independently or simultaneously to impart movement to booms 19. The outer gear segments 25 may be driven, for example, by electric motors 42 which are connected through gear boxes 43 to gear wheels 44. Gear wheels 44 have outer teeth 46 which engage the output spindles 47 of gear boxes 43 and inner teeth 48 which engage teeth 49 on the outer periphery of rings 41. Teeth 49 are protected by an arcuate guard frame 50 to prevent material being handled from fouling the teeth 49. As electric motors 42 are reversible electric motors, the direction of rotation of which may be controlled by conventional means from the operator cab 51, the direction of rotation of gear segments 25 may be controlled to cause rotation in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. The inner or second gear segments 32 are powered by electric motors 52 which through gear boxes 53 drive gear wheels 54, the teeth 56 of which engage the output spindles 57 of gear boxes 53. Gear wheels 54 have smaller diameter toothed rings 58 which engage the teeth 59 on the inner periphery of gear segments 32. Electric motors 52, like electric motors 42, are reversible electric motors. They thus permit rotation of the second gear segments 32 in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.

As the movement of boom 19 will affect the attitude of the excavating bucket 18, means are provided for tilting the bucket 18 and in the illustrated embodiment take the form of hydraulic cylinder and ram assemblies 61 the cylinder portions of which are pivotally mounted on plates 23 by pins 62 and the ram portions 63 of which are pinned to jackknife toggle linkages generally indicated by reference numeral 64. The legs 70 of toggle linkages 64 to which rams 63 are pivotally attached by pins 66 are pivotally attached to plates 23 by pins 67 and pivotally attached at the other end to legs 68 of the linkages 64 by pins 69. Each leg 68 is at the opposite end pivotally attached between one of the furcated cars 71 of bucket 18 by a pin 72. Thus, by extension of rams 63 relative to cylinders 61, the top edge 73 of bucket 18 may be tilted in a clockwise direction. Retraction of the rams 63 into cylinders 61 will effect movement of the top edge 73 in a counterclockwise direction.

For a better understanding of the movements which may be imparted to the boom 19 by inner gear segments 32 and outer gear segments 25, reference is made to FIG. 4 which is a schematic illustration of the arcs through which the outer periphery of gear segments 25 and the inner periphery of gear segments 32 move. When the booms 19 are in a fully retracted position the pins 26, which pin booms 19 to gear segments 25, are at the position generally indicated Al on the outer arc of FIG. 4. The lift link pin 38 will be generally in the position indicated D2" on the inner arc of FIG. 4. One mode of operation to effect extension of the boom 19 may be referred to as the horizontal crowd mode and is identified in FIGS. 5 and 6 as Mode I. In this mode of operation both the outer gear segments 25 and inner gear segments 32 are utilized to move the booms 19 in a horizontal direction and to elevate booms 19 after full extension of the booms. More particularly, through control means in cab 51, the outer gear segments 25, which are represented by the dotted lines in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, are moved in a counterclockwise direction from position A1 to position F1. As the outer gear segments 25 pass position B1 the inner gear segments 32, which are represented by the solid lines in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, are actuated and move from position D2" to position H2 so that the inner gear segments 32 reach position H2 as the outer gear segments 25 reach position Fl. At this point the bucket 18 will be at its maximum extended position. Elevation of the bucket 18 by movement of booms 19 in a generally vertical direction is accomplished by continuing movement of outer gear segments 25 from position F1" through position 11" while reversing the direction of movement of the inner segments 32 from a clockwise to a counterclockwise direction so that lift pins 32 are moved from position H2" to position- A2 as viewed in FIG. 4.

In a second mode of operation which may be employed which mode may be characterized as the boom crowd mode or Mode II, the outer gear segments 25 are moved from position Al" to position F1" to achieve maximum horizontal extension of bucket 18 while the inner gear segments 32 remain in a stationary position. Elevation of bucket 18 is then achieved as the outer gear segments 25 pass position F1" by moving the inner gear segments 32 in a counterclockwise direction from the initial position D2" so that as the outer gear segments 25 move from position F1 to position J1 the inner gear segments have moved from position D2 to position A2 to effect lifting of the booms 19.

In a third mode of operation which may be employed which may be identified as the lift mode or Mode III, the outer gear segments 25 are positioned at the F1" position and the inner gear segments 32 are actuated to move from D2 to A2. Upon reaching the position A2" the inner gear segments 32 are stopped and the outer gear segments 25 actuated to move from the F1" position to be in a position between A1 and 11", depending upon the amount of lift required. Of course, it will be obvious from the above that various other modes of operation may be employed.

While the illustrated embodiment employs circular gear segments which are pivotal about the same axis, arcuate gear segments which are pivotal about different axes may be employed, though the gear segments should be pivotal in the same plane so that coordinated control may be effected. While the preferred embodiment illustrates an excavating bucket 18 attached to the load supporting member or boom 19, other types of load engaging members such as a fork, a platform, a vertically opening bucket, or the like may be attached to the boom member 19. This invention, which is an improvement in the generic invention of U. S. Pat. application Ser. No. 46,210 filed by Trenary and assigned to the assignee hereof, involves the mounting of the inner gear segments 32 within the periphery of outer gear segments 25 to provide a large open space in the area generally indicated by the re erence numeral 74. Thus, elongated oads which extend between the sets of gear segments can be more conveniently handled than would be the case if each of the inner gear segments were mounted adjacent to the outer gear segments which is contemplated by the Trenary application. After reading of the above, various other modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, as the present invention provides the art with means for extending, retracting, elevating and lowering a load supporting member with a structural mechanism having relatively few moving parts and one which has great structural integrity to minimize maintenance and assure positive control over the load supporting member at all times.

What is claimed is:

1. In a vehicle of the type including a load supporting member, a first gear segment for moving the load supporting member substantially linearly, and a second gear segment for raising and lowering the load supporting member, the improvement comprising:

one of said gear segments having a peripheral ring which upon movement of said gear segment describes a circular arc;

a smaller gear segment also having a peripheral ring which upon movement of said smaller gear segment describes a circular arc, said smaller gear segment being positioned within the peripheral ring of the larger gear segment;

load supporting member having one end pivotally mounted on one of said gear segments and the other end extending from the vehicle; and

a lift link having one end connected to the other of said gear segments and the opposite end connected to said load supporting member for elevating and lowering of the load supporting member.

2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein:

the two gear segments are pivotal about the same axis.

3. The improvement of claim 2 wherein:

the larger gear segment is provided with radially outwardly extending teeth.

4. The improvement of claim 3 wherein:

the smaller gear segment is provided with radially inwardly extending teeth.

5. The improvement of claim 4 wherein:

the gear segment having the radially outwardly extending teeth is the first gear segment.

6. The improvement of claim 5 wherein:

the load supporting member is pivotally attached to the first gearsegment and is furcated to receive a portion of the peripheral ring of the first gear segment therebetween.

7. The improvement of claim 6 wherein:

the furcated end of load supporting member is also adapted to receive therebetween a portion of the peripheral ring of the first gear segment.

8. The improvement of claim 1 wherein:

the end of the load supporting member pivotally attached to a gear segment is furcated to receive a portion of the peripheral ring of the gear segment therebetween.

9. The improvement of claim 8 wherein:

the furcated end of the load supporting member is also adapted to receive therebetween a portion of the peripheral ring of the other gear segment. 

1. In a vehicle of the type including a load supporting member, a first gear segment for moving the load supporting member substantially linearly, and a second gear segment for raising and lowering the load supporting member, the improvement comprising: one of said gear segments having a peripheral ring which upon movement of said gear segment describes a circular arc; a smaller gear segment also having a peripheral ring which upon movement of said smaller gear segment describes a circular arc, said smaller gear segment being positioned within the peripheral ring of the larger gear segment; a load supporting member having one end pivotally mounted on one of said gear segments and the other end extending from the vehicle; and a lift link having one end connected to the other of said gear segments and the opposite end connected to said load supporting member for elevating and lowering of the load supporting member.
 2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein: the two gear segments are pivotal about the same axis.
 3. The improvement of claim 2 wherein: the larger gear segment is provided with radially outwardly extending teeth.
 4. The improvement of claim 3 wherein: the smaller gear segment is provided with radially inwardly extending teeth.
 5. The improvement of claim 4 wherein: the gear segment having the radially outwardly extending teeth is the first gear segment.
 6. The improvement of claim 5 wherein: the load supporting member is pivotally attached to the first gear segment and is furcated to receive a portion of the peripheral ring of the first gear segment therebetween.
 7. The improvement of claim 6 wherein: the furcated end of load supporting member is also adapted to receive therebetween a portion of the peripheral ring of the first gear segment.
 8. The improvement of claim 1 wherein: the end of the load supporting member pivotally attached to a gear segment is furcated to receive a portion of the peripheral ring of the gear segment therebetween.
 9. The improvement of claim 8 wherein: the furcated end of the load supporting member is also adapted to receive therebetween a portion of the peripheral ring of the other gear segment. 